The current Iranian narrative—that economic problems stem from domestic mistakes rather than foreign pressure—complicates the U.S. policy of using sanctions to force change. On August 28, President Hassan Rouhani answered questions before the Majlis about Iran’s economic problems, only the second time in the Islamic Republic’s history that a president has come before the parliament.… Keep reading →
The former chief of China’s biggest oil firm has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for accepting bribes. [BBC] Around 70% of Americans believe in the science behind global warming – the highest level of acceptance in the US since 2008, according to a new survey. [The Guardian] Global oil prices have bottomed out… Keep reading →
Speculation is in the air, but it’s not on Wall Street or at some commodity trader’s desk at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It comes from China. Earlier this week, both foreign and domestic media reported that two of China’s national oil companies (NOCs), Sinopec and PetroChina, (the country’s two largest oil exploration companies) could merge.… Keep reading →
The gusher of liquefied natural gas ready to set sail on the world market in the next five years creates challenges for traditional gas suppliers, Russia’s Gazprom among them. State-owned Gazprom is Europe’s biggest natural gas supplier, and it has turned east to China in recent years for new growth and a rival market to… Keep reading →
In a one-day trial before the Intermediate People’s Court in Hanjiang early this week, Jiang Jiemin, who once headed up China’s biggest oil company, admitted to corruption. And boy was he sorry. “I relaxed my self-restraint. I betrayed principles and gravely violated the party’s rules and state laws, causing losses for the country that cannot… Keep reading →
Western economic sanctions against Russian oil and energy interests are steadily playing out, this time affecting French oil major Total S.A.’s ability to finance part of the $27 billion Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Russian Arctic. Reports broke toward the end of last week that Total will seek as much as $15… Keep reading →
A state-owned Chinese oil major has been caught violating provincial and local environmental laws. The size of the fine incurred however, points to evidence that these mega energy companies still have more sway within the country than local laws and government officials tasked to enforce those laws. Late last week, Chinese media reported that… Keep reading →
Germany, the UK and Poland have the dirtiest coal plants in the EU, where the share of coal in power generation is currently around 25%. The IEA says EU coal-fired generation needs to be below 4% by 2035 to combat climate change. Germany exported a record amount of power in 2013 as it generated more… Keep reading →
FERC has been shifting the terminology used to describe electricity consumers from “ratepayers” to “customers,” which better reflects current realities in the evolving utility industry. “The journey away from “ratepayer” starts when thinking about the utility as a provider of energy efficiency, demand response and other demand-side management techniques. When the utility is partly in… Keep reading →
After some initially-confused western reporting, it’s now clear Russia’s Gazprom finally did close a long-term natural gas deal with Chinese national oil company CNPC. However, there is still wide speculation about the agreed price – a sticking point that held up the deal’s closure for a decade – and equally if not more importantly, questions… Keep reading →
